Protesters in Tbilisi criticized Kobakhidze for posting a photo with Putin

Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, attended a rally outside the parliament building on the 380th day of uninterrupted protests. Participants protested the Georgian prime minister's participation in the International Year of Peace and Trust forum in Ashgabat, where Irakli Kobakhidze posed for a photo next to Vladimir Putin. 

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," on December 10, the 378th day of daily protests, supporters of Georgia's European integration marched along the sidewalks of central Tbilisi. That same day, parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations and the Code of Administrative Offenses, drafted by the Georgian Dream party, banning spontaneous protests near government buildings. The restrictions on spontaneous protests proposed by the ruling party  contradict the Georgian Constitution and equate public gatherings without police approval to a misdemeanor, human rights activists pointed out. The law was officially published on December 11 and entered into force after midnight. 

Today, on the 380th day of continuous protests, supporters of Georgia's European integration once again gathered outside the parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue. This protest, taking place amid stricter regulations on public gatherings and demonstrations, was attended by Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, who had previously called on citizens to join today's protest, Interpressnews reports. 

"These laws mean nothing; you can't stop people like that, especially when matters of principle are at stake. This is a fight for this country, for its true survival, and to declare that we don't want a Russian Georgia, and in this regard, I think we are very united," Salome Zurabishvili said at a rally broadcast by Palitranews. 

Participants in the meeting protested Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's participation in a forum dedicated to the International Year of Peace and Trust, which was held in Turkmenistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin was also present at the event; a joint photo of the forum participants shows them standing close together. Zurabishvili, calling on citizens to join today's protest, also wrote: "No to Kobakhidze and Putin standing next to each other!" 

Federalist Party leader Giga Bokeria called the photo from the Ashgabat forum "a clear illustration of how the Georgian Dream, led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, is leading Georgia into Russia's sphere of influence. "The Ivanishvili regime portrays the United States, Great Britain, and the European Union as threats to the Georgian state and identity, and in return, it is leading the country, through force and intimidation, into a world where we can find neither freedom nor prosperity," Tbilisi_life quotes him as saying. 

At the Rustaveli monument, protesters unfurled placards reading "A City Full of Political Prisoners," "A City Full of Corruption," "A City Full of Terror," and "A City Full of Hungry Children." A police officer questioned them about the "details of the protest." Later, the activists, carrying these placards, marched toward Freedom Square, Publika reports. 

Lawyer Tato Kelbakiani, one of the organizers of the protest marches in Tbilisi, announced a march from the Philharmonic Hall to the Parliament on the evening of Saturday, October 13. He noted that formal procedures had been followed—a letter regarding the demonstration had been sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.